768 TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION M. 
This was described in some detail, together with experiments that had been 
made with a view to curing the disease. In this respect flowers of sulphur and 
unslaked lime have been found to be successful. 
4. The Growing of Linseed as a Farm Crop. 
By Duncan Davinson. 
The growing of flax for fibre has been a feature of Irish and, to a less 
extent, of British agriculture for many years, but linseed as a farm crop is 
unknown to most farmers in this country. Experiments in the growing of 
linseed have been carried out on a limited scale in England and Wales during 
the last three years, and this year more extended trials are being conducted. 
‘he main purport of this paper is to put forward some arguments in favour 
of linseed-growing; to describe the cultural requirements of the crop; and to 
consider the cost of production, probable yield, and money value of the crop on 
suitable land, as far as the limited experience and paucity of data at our 
disposal will admit. 
The special value of linseed as a cream substitute for calves, its superiority 
as a fattening and ‘finishing’ food for older cattle, its ability to secure good 
‘condition’ in horses, its unrivalled effect as a tonic for ailing stock, not to 
mention its excellence for sheep, 1s universally admitted by farmers, The in- 
creasing demand for linseed oil and the decreasing export of linseed have 
advanced the price of linseed and linseed cake during the last few years to a 
level which almost prohibits their use as stock foods, and the present fall in Pog 
can only be regarded as temporary. 
Linseed is practically indispensable as a stock food, and its production at a 
reasonable cost becomes a pertinent problem. Can the British farmer grow 
linseed profitably? Experiments so far go to prove that 10 to 15 cwt. of linseed 
can be grown at the cost of about 6/. per acre on medium land, while we pay 
as much as 10/. for half a ton of linseed meal containing up to 10 per cent. of 
cheaper meal. Moreover, as a stock food the home-grown material is superior 
to the imported linseed, and it can be used instead of expensive linseed cake, 
and is a certain source of genuine linseed meal. ‘I'he increasing demand for 
linseed oil, and the preference by the trade for oil from home-grown linseed, 
point to the possibility of growing linseed on a commercial scale in the near 
future. 
For the linseed crop the texture, depth, and water supply of the soil, and 
the capacity of the subsoil to store water are of the greatest importance; and 
while clay, sandy and peaty soils have so far proved unfavourable, good crops 
may be grown on widely different types of soil. 
‘The climate of England and Wales is quite suitable for the growth of lin- 
seed, as experiments in the North, West, and South-East of the country testify ; 
and the influence of weather conditions on the crop may be ascertained by a 
comparison of the effect of the seasons in the last three or four years. The 
place of linseed in the rotation is practically optional, provided the crop does 
not appear too frequently on the same land. The flax crop is not grown on the 
same land oftener than once in seven years at least. In the U.S.A. and Canada 
linseed is chiefly grown as a first crop on virgin land, and in the other linseed- 
producing countries, except Russia, no fixed rotation is followed. Linseed is an 
excellent covering crop for ‘seeds,’ a useful substitute for spring corn, and an 
alternative crop for wheat, and may be followed by catch crops, and may itself 
be grown as a catch crop. 
In preparing the land for linseed, special attention must be given to early 
tillage, the destruction of weeds, and the fineness and compactness of the soil. 
The most suitable manures for the crop have yet to be determined, as the 
results obtained in the case of flax crops are inconclusive. From ancient times 
fiax has been regarded as an exhaustive crop, and it is traditional that flax 
‘draws the land,’ but a comparison of the plant food materials required by the 
flax crop and those removed by other farm crops does not support this view. 
Flax is pulled and the soil is deprived of the stubble, whereas the linseed crop 
is cut, except when very short, and the stubble remains in the soil; and, more- 
over, the grain fed to stock on the farm enriches the manure heap. The most 
serious drawback to linseed-growing is the scarcity of good seed. Most of the 
